diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 8c3ed5a..fa0fdf4 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ mod html;
 mod irc_task;
 mod owncast_api;
 mod webhook;
+mod websocket;
 
 fn main() {
     println!("owncast-irc-bridge");
diff --git a/src/websocket.rs b/src/websocket.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f55406
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/websocket.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+use futures_util::StreamExt;
+use tokio::sync::mpsc;
+use tokio_tungstenite::connect_async;
+use tracing::{info, warn};
+
+use crate::events::{BridgeEvent, Source};
+use crate::html::strip_html;
+
+pub async fn run_websocket_task(
+    owncast_url: String,
+    event_tx: mpsc::Sender<BridgeEvent>,
+    mut shutdown: tokio::sync::watch::Receiver<bool>,
+) {
+    let mut backoff = Duration::from_secs(1);
+    let max_backoff = Duration::from_secs(60);
+
+    loop {
+        let ws_url = build_ws_url(&owncast_url);
+        info!(url = %ws_url, "Connecting to Owncast WebSocket");
+
+        match connect_and_listen(&ws_url, &event_tx, &mut shutdown).await {
+            Ok(()) => {
+                info!("WebSocket task exiting cleanly");
+                return;
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                warn!(error = %e, "WebSocket connection error");
+                info!(backoff_secs = backoff.as_secs(), "Reconnecting after backoff");
+
+                tokio::select! {
+                    _ = tokio::time::sleep(backoff) => {},
+                    _ = shutdown.changed() => return,
+                }
+
+                backoff = (backoff * 2).min(max_backoff);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn build_ws_url(base_url: &str) -> String {
+    let base = base_url.trim_end_matches('/');
+    let ws_base = if base.starts_with("https://") {
+        base.replacen("https://", "wss://", 1)
+    } else {
+        base.replacen("http://", "ws://", 1)
+    };
+    format!("{}/ws", ws_base)
+}
+
+async fn connect_and_listen(
+    ws_url: &str,
+    event_tx: &mpsc::Sender<BridgeEvent>,
+    shutdown: &mut tokio::sync::watch::Receiver<bool>,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let (ws_stream, _) = connect_async(ws_url).await?;
+    let (_write, mut read) = ws_stream.split();
+
+    info!("WebSocket connected");
+
+    loop {
+        tokio::select! {
+            msg = read.next() => {
+                match msg {
+                    Some(Ok(ws_msg)) => {
+                        if let Ok(text) = ws_msg.into_text() {
+                            if let Some(event) = parse_ws_message(&text) {
+                                if event_tx.send(event).await.is_err() {
+                                    return Ok(());
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    Some(Err(e)) => return Err(e.into()),
+                    None => return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("WebSocket stream ended")),
+                }
+            }
+            _ = shutdown.changed() => return Ok(()),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn parse_ws_message(text: &str) -> Option<BridgeEvent> {
+    let value: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_str(text).ok()?;
+    let msg_type = value.get("type")?.as_str()?;
+
+    match msg_type {
+        "CHAT" => {
+            let user = value.get("user")?;
+            let is_bot = user.get("isBot").and_then(|v| v.as_bool()).unwrap_or(false);
+            if is_bot {
+                return None;
+            }
+            let display_name = user.get("displayName")?.as_str()?.to_string();
+            let body = value.get("body")?.as_str()?;
+            let id = value.get("id").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).map(String::from);
+
+            Some(BridgeEvent::ChatMessage {
+                source: Source::Owncast,
+                username: display_name,
+                body: strip_html(body),
+                id,
+            })
+        }
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_build_ws_url_https() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            build_ws_url("https://owncast.example.com"),
+            "wss://owncast.example.com/ws"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_build_ws_url_http() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            build_ws_url("http://localhost:8080"),
+            "ws://localhost:8080/ws"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_build_ws_url_trailing_slash() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            build_ws_url("https://owncast.example.com/"),
+            "wss://owncast.example.com/ws"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_ws_chat_message() {
+        let json = r#"{"type":"CHAT","id":"abc","body":"hello","user":{"displayName":"viewer","isBot":false}}"#;
+        let event = parse_ws_message(json);
+        assert!(matches!(
+            event,
+            Some(BridgeEvent::ChatMessage { ref username, ref body, .. })
+            if username == "viewer" && body == "hello"
+        ));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_ws_bot_message_ignored() {
+        let json = r#"{"type":"CHAT","id":"abc","body":"hello","user":{"displayName":"bot","isBot":true}}"#;
+        assert!(parse_ws_message(json).is_none());
+    }
+}